A growing body of research has linked divorce to poor health, including the risk of premature death, and the link between these two phenomena has not been properly explained.
A study from the University of Arizona points to two possible culprits: increased smoking habit after divorce, and decreased physical activity.
“We were trying to fill an existing gap in the evidence linking marital status and early mortality,” said PhD student Kyle Borassa, study leader, published in the journal Annals of Behavioral Medicine. “We know that marital status is associated with both mental and physiological health, and the path from divorce to poor health goes through behavioral motives such as smoking and physical activity. It is also known that healthy behavioral skills are often associated with psychological well-being, such as life satisfaction."
Borassa and his university colleagues, David Sbarra and John Ruitz, base their findings on data from the English Long-Term Study on Aging, a long-term health study in people over 50 in the UK. The study includes seven data samples collected at two-year intervals starting in 2002.
The researchers analyzed data from 5786 participants, of whom 926 were divorced and never remarried, and the rest were married. Attention was focused on respondents' reported satisfaction with life, exercise frequency, and smoking.
Deaths were also tracked during the study, and it was found that divorced or separated people had a 46 percent higher risk of dying during the study than those who were married.
Regarding the reasons for this phenomenon, Borassa's group found that divorced or separated study participants, especially women, showed lower life satisfaction than married ones. Less life satisfaction, in turn, leads to less physical activity, which in turn is associated with the risk of premature death.
Divorced members were also more likely to smoke than married members, resulting in worse lung conditions and earlier deaths.
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The researchers took into account parameters such as gender, health, age and socioeconomic status.
While the study hasn't focused on why divorce leads to more smoking and less exercise, there is a plausible explanation: Divorced people no longer have partners to encourage them to live healthier lives.
“Lifestyle control by a spouse can make a difference. If you imagine a non-smoking spouse or spouse with a smoking partner, then he will try to influence the smoking behavior in different ways. And when relationships are broken, this important level of control disappears."
Future research needs to consider the role of other behavioral factors such as food and alcohol consumption, as well as other marital status such as widowers / widows and remarried. In addition, studies may look at behavioral changes, such as stopping smoking or starting smoking for the first time, which were not considered by this study. It should also work towards whether the results on smoking and exercise for an aging divorced population are relevant for younger divorced people.
It is important to note that divorce does not necessarily lead to negative health consequences. For example, the quality of life can be significantly improved by ending unhealthy relationships.
Yet, since divorce continues to be associated with poor health, knowing that smoking and exercise may partly explain this can help people who have gone through divorce.
“This group of people is at greater risk, so our goal should be to ensure their long-term health. We have techniques for smokers, as well as for people who do not get enough exercise, so we ask divorced people - do you smoke? Are you exercising enough? The fact that life satisfaction links divorce and physical activity also suggests that increased life satisfaction will lead to an improvement in the physical condition of the population."
Vadim Tarabarko
